Parting the Mists

Today is a day to take some protective precautions as we go about the day. That’s not to say hide away – but take care to use precautions to protect yourself, whether that’s physically, spiritually, or even in conversations that might spark an unwanted outcome.

Blessings,

Thistle

Rowan – Safe in the Knowledge of Protection

Meaning: Protection means that we are looked after by a power stronger than ourselves. Whether we look to a god or gods, to angels or spirits, or ourselves, for our help, we should acknowledge the need for protection in every aspect of life. Just as we would be foolish to attempt to climb a mountain without strong ropes and proper climbing equipment, we should not consider entering into any other activity without ensuring we have the proper protection.

Rowan’s ability to shield us from harm makes its presence a powerful ally, and it is still invoked in parts of Europe as a guardian against evil spirit or other negative forces. It can also offer insight into danger through the invocation of higher wisdom. The Druid shamans of the Celts were said to use it in this way, breathing in the smoke from rowan fires to initiate a trance state in which their heightened perception enabled them to forward against the onset of danger. Its presence in a reading indicates that you are protected from harm. 

Rowan Lore: It is thought that the rowan got its name from the Norse word runa, meaning charm. It has had an association with protection from ancient times and is often found growing close to houses and churchyards to ward off evil presences. Traditions speak of the rowan as an especially powerful protector against witchcraft, and that to bind a piece of red thread around a twig of rowan can turn aside the strongest spell. 

Blood of the gods – The sheer brilliance of the rowan’s colors – deep green and scarlet – announces it present like a trumpet all wherever it grows. Its red berries meant that it was associated with both life and death, and since the color red was believed to represent the blood of the gods so the berries were seen as their natural food. The gods and goddesses associated with the rowan are among the most powerful deities. In Greek mythology, the rowan strand from the blood of an eagle, sent by Zeus to recover the Cup of the Gods, which had been stolen by demons, whereas in Scandinavian myth the first woman was created from a rowan tree. The tree was especially honored by the Norse people because it was said to have saved the god Thor from drowning when it reached forth its branches to catch him as he was swept away by a furious river.

Goddesses of the Sun – Rowan is ruled by the sun, so it is not exactly surprising that several of the deities connected with it are also solar. In Ireland, therefore, the goddess Brigid is often represented by the rowan, while in Britain it is Brigantia, an ancient tutelary deity of the land, is also invoked under its sign. Both these goddesses had strong associations with the sun, with its protective energy and with the first stirrings of spring. Brigid was also the goddess of poetry and inspiration, and in later Christian myth was said to have nursed the infant Jesus. Both Brigid and Brigantia are said to have possessed arrows made of rowan, which could catch fire when necessary. 

The Druid’s Tree – The rowan is especially sacred among the Celts. It was given great honor by the Druids, and in Ireland is still known as fid na ndruad, or “the Druid’s tree.” The Druids planted rowan trees – along with oaks and ash – in the sacred groves where they gathered to worship. Throughout Ireland it was protected from harm so long as the tree was healthy and well cared for. This tradition is still kept alive in parts of Europe, where rowan trees are found growing close to houses or churchyards and where sprigs of rowan pinned above a door frame are said to keep away those from evil intent. 

The Spirit of Nature Oracle by author John Matthews and artist Will Worthington

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Running a tad behind today, but we were enjoying a lazy morning with Mother Earth News and coffee. Then, I had a little helper join me at the computer. I’m sure some of you know just how “helpful” little Mojo was. But he sure is cute.

For those familiar Celtic lore, we know this card includes two features of wisdom: the Hazel tree and its fruits and the salmon below. When wisdom cards appear, it’s time to stop thinking you know everything and tap into something deeper and mysterious – intuitive and ancestral wisdom.

Blessings!

Hazel – Seek Wisdom in the Depths

Meaning: Wisdom is much harder to find than knowledge. It comes to us in a moments of grace, when we stop striving for fixed or prior knowledge, then we assess the need of the moment and ask for helpful solutions. Wisdom is already inside us, but when there is so much information on every side, we need some help to distinguish between true and false. So that is when we turn to the Ancestors, the guardians of wisdom that dwell in the Otherworld, where every thought is stored, every experience laid down, every atom of memory and truth recorded. By attuning to this storehouse of collective memory, we find that we can tap into a wisdom as old as time and as fresh as tomorrow. Those in need may think they do have sufficient knowledge to overcome a problem, but the depths of ancestral wisdom refines what we have into something far more powerful and appropriate to what we require. The message conveyed by Hazel is to dip deeper into your store of wisdom, and to seek out the primal information that can illuminate your every action.

Hazel Lore: For the Celts, the hazel is deeply connected with wisdom, and the fruit of the tree (known as “the food of the gods”) has an important place in the iconography of learning. Irish tradition speaks of the sacred salmon who swim in a pool surrounded by nine hazel trees. When these trees dropped their nuts in the water below, the salmon ate them and then carried them to the sea and back in their annual spawning run. This endless cycle was seen as a metaphor for the passing of wisdom from age to age and from person to person. Salmon were already regarded as sacred in their own right, and their ingesting the fruit of wisdom made them doubly precious. Celtic literature contains many descriptions of heroes who, the they ate of the flesh of the salmon, thereby imbibed wisdom, and so set them apart from the rest of humanity.

The Spirit of Nature Oracle by author John Matthews and artist Will Worthington

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Thank you for being patient with the card this morning – I pulled the card but went for a walk before remembering I hadn’t actually posted it. Oops.

Anyhow, this is an interesting card indicating that many of us need to take the step through a threshold state of life. Don’t let fear hold you back. Blessings!

Beech – What lies beyond the threshold?

Meaning: Crossing thresholds is a way of moving from one state of bing to another, but they can be frightening places, confronting us with uncertainty and change. Being creature of habit, it is easier fo us to stay with the known and familiar, yet if we refuse to confront what lies beyond the threshold, we can remain in a stagnant condition. What is on the other side of the threshold may be actively enticing you into a new experience, a lesson that will develop your skills. Beech can signify the death or end of something but also stands for the changes that arise through realization.

Since its gift is the revelation of experience, Beech in a reading suggests you should cross the threshold that is challenging you, gain experience from the unknown, seek revelation and increase your knowledge.

Beech Lore: The beauty and femininity of the beech is obvious – traditionally, it is called the “Queen of the Woods,” sharing place of honor with the kingly oak. Local British traditions associate it with the serpents, probably because of its serpentine root systems, which are revealed by soil erosion when they are planted on hills or slopes. Behind this again lurks the notion of the wise serpent going knowledge to those who ask for it. Several altars to the beech have been discovered in the French Pyrénées, suggesting its importance to the Celtic tribes who lived there. It is said that no harm would ever befall a traveler shelling beneath its branches, while prayers uttered in its shade were bound to be answered, just as any curse spoken there was said to be more effective. Slivers of beech wood and leaves were once carried as talismans to bring good luck and increase creative energy. Wishes were carved on beech wands, which were subsequently buried in the earth, were said to be particularly effective and, as the wood rotted away in the earth, the wish was related to bear fruit in the outer world.

Preservers of lore: Thin leaves of beechwood are said to have been bound together to form the first book, which is certainly in line with its central association with writing and the transmission of lore. The Anglo-Saxon word for beech was bok (which became book); in German, buche is beech and buch is book, while the Swedish word bok means both book and beech. These associations have led to the tree being associated with gods of learning. In the Egyptian pantheon, Thoth is the inventor of writing, the preserver of lore. Hermes is his Greek equivalent, while Ogma in the Celtic tradition and Odin in the Norse are both responsible for the discovery of letters from which the Ogam and Runic alphabets descend. Dried beech leaves were used to stuff mattresses in France until recently as the nineteenth century; indeed, the soft whispering noise produced when these were lain upon prompted them to be dubbed lits de parlement (speaking beds). Sleeping on one of these, and asking a question before falling asleep, meant that one received a wise answer in the night.

Spirit of Nature Oracle by author John Matthews and artist Will Worthington

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